TFT Reforger Guide: When to Reroll an Item

Quick Answer

Use a Reforger when an item is creating little or no value, the current holder cannot use it well, and several random replacements would improve your board. Do not use it only because an item is imperfect. A usable item that protects HP is often better than gambling for best-in-slot. Reforge earlier when the item is completely dead and you have multiple acceptable outcomes. Wait when the current item is already useful, the replacement pool is highly uncertain, or losing the item for the current round would weaken your board.

What a Reforger Changes

A Reforger gives you another chance to turn an unwanted item outcome into something usable. The value is not simply the possibility of receiving a stronger item. Its real value comes from fixing a mismatch between your items, holders, and board.

That means the correct question is not, “Can this become a perfect item?” The correct question is, “How many possible replacements would improve my current position?”

When You Should Use a Reforger

1. The Item Has No Good Holder

An item can be theoretically strong and still be weak on your board. If none of your current or likely future units can use it well, the item may contribute less than a random but broadly usable replacement.

Before reforging, use the checklist in How to Choose an Item Holder in TFT. A temporary holder may solve the problem without adding more randomness.

2. The Item Conflicts With Your Actual Direction

Sometimes your early items point toward one damage type, but your shops, Augments, and upgrades point somewhere else. If the item does not fit the board you are actually playing, a Reforger can help you stop paying for an outdated plan.

See What to Do When Your Items Do Not Match Your Team Comp before assuming the item must be rerolled. Moving the item to another holder or changing only part of the board may be enough.

3. Many Outcomes Would Be Acceptable

A Reforger is most attractive when the board can use several different replacements. For example, a board that needs any frontline durability has more acceptable outcomes than a board that needs one exact carry item.

The wider your acceptable range, the less the decision depends on hitting one perfect result.

4. The Current Item Is Costing You Fights

If an equipped item is contributing almost nothing while your board loses repeatedly, keeping it has a real cost. You are not preserving value by holding a dead item. You are paying HP to avoid uncertainty.

This is similar to the decision in When Should You Slam Items in TFT?: immediate board strength matters more as your health falls.

When You Should Keep the Item

1. The Item Is Already Doing Its Job

An item does not need to be best-in-slot to be worth keeping. If it adds damage, survivability, mana access, or useful utility every fight, rerolling it may create more risk than value.

Use BIS vs Flexible Items to judge whether “good enough” is already enough.

2. You Need One Exact Outcome

If only one or two possible replacements solve the problem, the Reforger becomes a high-variance gamble. Look for other ways to improve the board before depending on one narrow result.

3. The Board Has a Different Problem

Do not reforge a carry item when the real problem is a frontline that dies immediately. Do not reforge a tank item when your board lacks damage and the item is already keeping a useful unit alive.

Identify whether the board needs AD, AP, frontline durability, or utility before changing the item. The guides to AD items, AP items, and tank items can help diagnose the real need.

A Simple Reforger Decision Table

Situation	Recommended decision	Why
The item has no current or likely future holder	Usually reforge	A random usable item may have a much higher practical floor
The item is imperfect but contributes every fight	Usually keep	Usable power is better than gambling for perfection
Your board can use many different replacements	Reforge is attractive	The range of successful outcomes is wide
You need one exact carry item	Usually keep or find another plan	The chance of solving a narrow need is uncertain
You are low HP and the item is dead	Reforge sooner	Immediate value matters more than preserving optionality
You are winstreaking and the item is useful	Keep	Do not introduce unnecessary variance into a strong board

How Health Changes the Decision

Health is one of the most important parts of a Reforger decision.

• High HP: You can sometimes wait for a clearer holder or board direction.
• Medium HP: Reforge when the item is repeatedly failing to create value.
• Low HP: Prioritize immediate usable power. A dead item has very little strategic value when one or two losses can end the game.

This does not mean low HP requires using every Reforger immediately. It means your standard for keeping a weak item should become much stricter.

Reforging Carry Items

Carry items are tempting Reforger targets because players often compare them to a best-in-slot list. That comparison can be misleading.

Keep the item when it matches the holder’s damage pattern and contributes consistently. Consider reforging when the item conflicts with the unit’s role, the holder is only temporary with no transfer plan, or your final board has shifted to a different damage type.

Reforging Tank Items

Tank items often have a high practical floor because many frontline units can use defensive stats. This makes a merely average tank item less urgent to reroll than a completely mismatched carry item.

Reforge a defensive item only when it is genuinely poor for the available frontline or when your board has enough durability and urgently needs another role filled.

Common Reforger Mistakes

Chasing Best-in-Slot

Turning a usable item into a random result because it is not perfect is one of the easiest ways to lose guaranteed value.

Ignoring the Current Holder

An item may look weak only because it is on the wrong unit. Test whether a better holder exists before rerolling it.

Using It Without a Board Diagnosis

A Reforger cannot fix a positioning error, missing frontline, low star levels, or an economy problem. Identify the actual reason you are losing first.

Waiting Until the Game Is Almost Over

Saving a Reforger has no value if the item mismatch costs too much HP before you use it. Treat the consumable as a tool for creating board strength, not as a collectible.

Set 17 Note: Craftsmanship

In the official Patch 17.2 notes, Riot introduced Kayle’s Craftsmanship Blessing. It grants Reforgers over the course of the game and rewards using a Reforger with gold. Riot later clarified a bug so that the reward counts each Reforger used rather than every item reforged.

That interaction changes the cost of waiting. When your game specifically rewards Reforger usage, using one on a clearly weak item can create both board value and economy value. The same basic rule still applies: do not reroll a good item only to trigger the reward.

Official Sources

• Riot Games: Teamfight Tactics Patch 17.2
• Riot Games: Teamfight Tactics Patch 17.9

Final Takeaway

A Reforger is strongest when it converts a dead or badly mismatched item into a wide range of usable possibilities. Keep items that already solve a real board problem. Reforge when the item has no holder, the comp has changed, or many replacements would improve your position. The goal is not to roll the perfect item. The goal is to turn unused value into practical strength before the game is decided.